Israel and France's increasing divide over Gaza hits the Paris Air Show

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Le Bourget, France — Geopolitical tensions roiled the opening of the Paris Air Show connected Monday arsenic French authorities sealed disconnected Israeli weapons manufacture booths amid the conflicts successful Iran and Gaza, a determination that Israel condemned arsenic "outrageous."

The determination added play to the large aerospace manufacture event, which was already nether the shadiness of past week's deadly clang of Air India's Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Black walls were installed astir the stands of 5 Israeli defence firms astatine the commercialized just successful Le Bourget, an airfield connected the outskirts of Paris.

The booths displayed "offensive weapons" that could beryllium used successful Gaza - successful usurpation of agreements with Israeli authorities, a French authorities root told AFP.

The companies - Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Rafael, Uvision, Elbit and Aeronautics - marque drones and guided bombs and missiles.

An Israeli exhibitor wrote a connection successful yellowish chalk connected 1 of the walls, saying the hidden defence systems "are protecting the authorities of Israel these days. The French government, successful the sanction of favoritism is trying to fell them from you!"

French authoritative says Israeli "offensive weapons" barred amid warfare successful Gaza

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou defended the determination during a Monday property league astatine the aerial show.

"The French government's presumption was precise simple: nary violative weapons astatine the arms exposition," helium said. "Defensive weapons were perfectly acceptable."

Bayrou cited the ongoing struggle successful Gaza arsenic the rationale down the ban.

"Given France's diplomatic choices, successful peculiar the concern, oregon successful immoderate case, precise large worries astir Gaza, we could not not amusement that determination was a definite distance, which meant that we did not deliberation it acceptable that violative weapons were successful a amusement similar that," said Bayrou. "And arsenic these violative weapons were not withdrawn [by the Israeli companies], we person temporarily, I hope, closed the stands."

At the past Paris Air Show successful 2023, Israeli companies - including astatine slightest 1 that was taxable to the closure of its stall connected Monday - appear to person displayed violative weapons, including laser-guided bombs and rockets and onslaught drones.

Israel calls France's determination to adjacent stalls "outrageous and unprecedented"

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said helium was shocked by the "outrageous" closure of the pavilions and said the concern should beryllium "immediately corrected."

"Israeli companies person signed contracts with the organizers... it's similar creating an Israeli ghetto," helium said connected French tv transmission LCI.

The Israeli defence ministry said successful a connection that the "outrageous and unprecedented determination reeks of policy-driven and commercialized considerations."

"The French are hiding down supposedly governmental considerations to exclude Israeli violative weapons from an planetary accumulation - weapons that vie with French industries," it said. "This is peculiarly striking fixed Israeli technologies' awesome and precise show successful Iran."

Israel launched astonishment strikes connected Iranian subject and atomic sites aboriginal connected Friday, sidesplitting apical commanders and scientists, prompting Tehran to deed backmost with a barrage of missiles.

Arkansas' Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders was astatine the Paris amusement connected Monday and, speaking with reporters, she called the French officials' determination "pretty absurd." Her begetter is Mike Huckabee, the existent U.S. Ambassador to Israel and a staunch backer of the ongoing Israeli operations successful Gaza.

The beingness of Israeli firms astatine Le Bourget, though smaller than successful the past, was already a root of hostility earlier the commencement of the Paris Air Show, due to the fact that of the struggle successful Gaza.

A French tribunal past week rejected a bid by NGOs to prohibition Israeli companies from Le Bourget implicit concerns astir "international crimes."

Local lawmakers from the Seine-Saint-Denis section hosting the lawsuit were absent during Bayrou's sojourn to the opening of the aerial amusement successful protestation implicit the Israeli presence.

"Never has the satellite been truthful disrupted and destabilized," Bayrou said earlier astatine a roundtable event, urging nations to tackle challenges "together, not against each other."

Boeing focuses connected support, not income astatine Paris Air amusement aft Air India crash

The enactment implicit Israel formed a shadiness implicit a commercialized just that is usually dominated by displays of the aerospace industry's latest flying wonders, and large orders for level makers Airbus and Boeing.

Airbus announced an bid of 30 single-aisle A320neo jets and 10 A350F freighters by Saudi craft leasing steadfast AviLease. The European shaper besides said Riyadh Air was buying 25 long-range, wide-body A350-1000 jets.

Boeing main enforcement Kelly Ortberg past week cancelled plans to be the biennial event, to absorption connected the probe of the Air India crash.

"Our absorption is connected supporting our customers, alternatively than announcing orders astatine this aerial show," a Boeing spokeswoman told AFP connected Monday.

The London-bound Dreamliner crashed soon aft take-off successful the occidental Indian metropolis of Ahmedabad, sidesplitting 241 passengers and unit and different 38 connected the ground. One rider survived.